Ms Whitehead, who goes by the name Miss Maureen, has
released an album titled, 'I can you can toucan', which features 19 original
songs.

Born in Ararat, Miss Maureen lived in Stawell for about
eight years in the late 1960s and early 1970s while teaching at Stawell Primary
School.

Now based in Melbourne, Miss Maureen retired from teaching
about 10 years ago but wanted to continue educating young children.

Miss Maureen has written more than 200 songs for children,
featuring unique melodies and clever rhymes.

"I have released the songs at the insistence of
principals, teachers and educationalists," she said.

"They all have action videos, because action is very
important. The benefits to children are huge. It's fun and enjoyable and fits
all the guidelines for children's early learning."

Miss Maureen said the songs and their accompanying videos
had instant appeal for young children and that they would have a significant
impact in music and literacy, reading, creative writing, poetry and drama.

Miss Maureen said the education packages could be used in
schools, kindergartens or by parents at home and also featured illustrated
lyric sheets and character outline stencils.

"Any child can get hold of them," she said.

"They're all woven around a character so they're very
engaging, which is vital for children."

"(Miss Maureen) fulfils the VELS (Victorian Essential
Learning Standards) reading, writing, listening and speaking - the songs cover
all of these areas. They also fit in beautifully with the early years model,
shared reading, guided reading and literacy groups. I'm a huge advocate!"
she said.

"Rhythm is essential for learning to read, and so the
idea of having songs that have a fabulous beat, are fun to move to. We know
that children learn kinaesthetically as well, so what it's doing is engaging
them orally, aurally, physically and they're having a great time while they do
it, so I think that's a huge bonus."